If you're ready to make sobriety a part of your DEI and employee wellness programs, here are a few tips that can help:

Get creative with activities. There are plenty of fun, engaging team activities available that don't involve alcohol, and tons of resources and ideas available on the web. Just because happy hour is easy, doesn't mean it's the only option. A quick internet search can give you well more than a year's worth of activities. Plus, it might be fun to explore local attractions in your neighborhood beyond the corner bar.

Establish an open-door policy. Make it clear during employee onboarding and through regular communications that employees who want help for an SUD can ask for it in confidence. It's essential that they know they won't be judged, discriminated against or punished for coming forward. Create a formal policy that details how you'll respond if they come forward (by providing treatment resources) versus letting their alcohol use interfere their work (with a harder line and perhaps an ultimatum to seek treatment).

Partner with a local substance abuse treatment provider. While encouraging sobriety is a great idea, employers certainly aren't in a position to facilitate it beyond providing alcohol-free activities and a safe place for sobriety. Partnering with a local treatment provider gives HR a trusted resource to which they can make safe, confidential referrals in the event an employee comes forward and asks for help.

Maintain mental health benefits. As the economy tightens, many employers feel compelled to cut back on benefits to save money, with mental health coverage often first on the chopping block. This is a mistake and may very well cost more down the road. Ensuring employees can get the mental health treatment they need can actually prevent development of a SUD, which ultimately requires a much more intense and costly intervention.

Add holistic wellness benefits. Beyond formal mental health coverage, add benefits that support employees' holistic health. This might include a set number of mental health days they can take off each year with no questions asked, work-from-home or remote work flexibility or flexible hours, guided mindfulness programs, conference room yoga or other health-enriching programs.

Be mindful of language. It's best to void cute catchphrases like "sober curious" or "damp January." For many people, abstaining from alcohol isn't a fun once-a-year challenge, it's a matter of life or death, and using this type of language can be perceived as making light of their situation. Instead, just be direct, inclusive and focused on employees' overall wellbeing.

Now more than ever, your employees need belonging, support and resources to stay healthy. With alcohol consumption soaring during the pandemic (especially among women), and against the backdrop of the opioid crisis, substance use is a real issue that employers can't ignore or assume that it doesn't affect their team.

Instant Insights /

Why stop at dry January? Make sober inclusivity part of your DEI strategy

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